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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29852979">You Are a Midsummer Night’s Dream</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/whatisreggieshortfor/pseuds/whatisreggieshortfor'>whatisreggieshortfor</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dead Poets Society (1989)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Bookstore, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Tattoo Parlor, Asexual Steven Meeks, Bookstore Owner! Steven Meeks, Ginny and Charlie are step siblings, M/M, Neil Perry is Alive, Tattoo Artist! Charlie Dalton, Trans Charlie Dalton, Trans Male Character, because I said so, trans Todd Anderson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 23:46:53</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,127</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29852979</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/whatisreggieshortfor/pseuds/whatisreggieshortfor</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A tattoo artist walks into a bookstore. The set up for a joke or a romcom?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Charlie Dalton &amp; Ginny Danbury, Charlie Dalton &amp; Neil Perry, Charlie Dalton &amp; Neil Perry &amp; Knox Overstreet &amp; Richard Cameron, Charlie Dalton/Steven Meeks, Ginny Danbury/Gerard Pitts, Steven Meeks &amp; Gerard Pitts, Steven Meeks &amp; Gerard Pitts &amp; Todd Anderson, Todd Anderson/Neil Perry</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>42</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/undercut_by_excellence/gifts">undercut_by_excellence</a>.</li>



    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Steven Meeks had opened the store as soon as he graduated college. His parents had been supportive, loving the idea that he used his knowledge of the all the books he’d read to help people find exactly what they needed for school reports or research- and he made sure there was a large section for pure enjoyment reading. </span>
  <em>
    <span class="s2">Into The Pages </span>
  </em>
  <span class="s1">was his way of being part of the community too. He held poetry nights, where he would convince one of his best friends, Todd Anderson, to perform at least one of his poems. Gerard Pitts could never be found to far away from Meeks either, he had a small tech repair store in the back of the shop.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">During the slow hours, the two of them would sit at the front counter and talk, sometimes Pitts would bring one of the devices he was fixing and sit with Meeks just so he wouldn’t be alone. The first time Meeks’s favorite regular came in was one of those days.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The bell above the door rang and Steven shifted his feet from the counter to the floor, “Hello, welcome to <em>Into The Pages</em>. Looking for anything in particular?” He adjusted his glasses as he finally looked at the man that had come through the door, and he would’ve sworn that his heart had stopped beating. The guy had shaggy brown hair, and shining brown eyes. Meeks’s was fairly positive he had never seen a better looking guy in his life. And then he realized he completely missed what the guy said, “I’m sorry, what was that?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The corners of the man’s lips twitched up to a smirk, “I’m looking for a copy of play, if you carry those? <em>A Midsummer Night’s Dream</em>?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Uh, yeah, yes, we have those. Right over here.” The curly haired boy vaguely heard his best friend suppressing a chuckle as he moved out from behind the counter, slowing enough to tap his hand against the back of the taller boy’s head, which resulted in a surprised laugh from the customer. Meeks looked at his feet, trying to ignore the flush he felt burning his cheeks as he led him to the Shakespeare section. “Here you go.” He pulled out one of the copies of the play, holding it out to the man. “Was there anything else you needed?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Yeah, I actually need to pick up a few books for friends of mine, if you don’t mind. You got any books by Walt Whitman?” So he led him over to the poetry section. “How about an biography on Ruth Bader Ginsberg? My step sister was heart broken when she passed.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“She was a true legend.” Meeks nodded to himself, moving over to where a few various biographies of the woman were. When the man chose the one he wanted, he grinned and Meeks knew he was gonna ask for something else.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I know you showed me the poetry section already, but did you have any books by Thoreau?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Oh, yeah.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“By the way, I’m Charlie.” The man grinned again as they made their way back to the poetry section.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Meeks.” The man stopped, raising an eyebrow, “Steven Meeks, but nobody calls me Steven except my parents.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The man made an understanding noise. “I get that. My parents still call me Charlotte.” He made a face when he said the name, and Meeks nodded. “Charlie Dalton, for the record. I own a shop up the road, <em>Ink Splatter</em>.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“The tattoo place?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Yeah, it figures that you’ve seen it.” He chuckled, grabbing a copy of Thoreau’s book before following Meeks to the counter.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Oh, I’ve been in there. With him.” He turned to where Pitts had been, but the taller man was gone so he waved toward the back room, “Another guy was working though, uhhhhh Knox?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Yeah,” Charlie beamed, “Him and my best friend Neil got certified with me so they could fill in when I couldn’t be there.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“That’s pretty awesome.” Steven smiled. “I think Neil did the one Pittsie got, and Knox did mine.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“What did you get?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Uhhh,” Meeks felt his face flush again.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Charlie waved him off with a laugh, “Don’t worry about it. Sounds personal.” Charlie looked around for a second as Meeks worked through ringing up the books, “Do they- uh,” he cleared his throat, “did you get matching tattoos?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Actually we, uh, did.” Charlie nodded, smiling, but Steven could tell it wasn’t as bright as before, and he wondered why it died down. He finished ringing up the total, Charlie paid and made his way out with a wave, and he was left wondering what he said.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Bro,” Pitts laughed when Meeks told him about the conversation, “Guy you meet tells you he has matching tattoos with another guy, what’s your first thought?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Oh, god I’m a fucking idiot.” Meeks muttered, horrified, “He thinks we’re together.” Pitts just laughed and nodded, the bastard.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The next time Charlie came into the store, Meeks didn’t think to greet him before he blurted the words, “Me and Pittsie aren’t dating.” Charlie blinked at him before bursting into laughter.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Sorry,” he managed to get out between laughs, “I know. I mean I didn’t last time, but I mentioned you to the guys and Neil was telling me there was a third one with you that got it too that looked like he was going to have an anxiety attack the whole time.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Yeah, Todd,” Meeks huffed a laugh, “Neil actually held his hand while Knox did his and it calmed him down pretty well.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Charlie was still smiling, “Yeah, and Neil told me that you and the tall guy argue like me and him do, so I figured you were either married or old friends.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Are you uh-“ some reason Meeks felt a pit open in his stomach. He had noticed Neil was good looking, so it would figure to him that this beautiful guy had an attractive boyfriend.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Oh, oh no, gross.” Charlie pulled a face.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Oh. Uh-“ Meeks couldn’t help that his face fell.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“No wait!” Charlie quickly continued with wide eyes, “I didn’t mean gross because we’re both guys. Just for the record, I’m bisexual. I meant gross because I’ve literally known him since I was six and I can not find him attractive because I picture the little boy that used to pick at his scabs and chase the geese at the park.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">This time Meeks laughed so hard he snorted, and Charlie’s grin told him that the man took it as a win. “So since you were six? How old are you now?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Twenty five.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Oooh you’re gonna hit that quarter life crisis.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Very funny.” Charlie rolled his eyes but he was still smiling, “How old are you?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Twenty four.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Ahh, you’re a baby.” Charlie quipped as he walked off toward a shelf.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“It’s literally only a year difference.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“It’s okay,” he leaned around the shelf to wink before disappearing between the stacks, “You can be my baby.” The redhead didn’t have a response to that, feeling his face flush.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The visits became fairly regular, happening two or three times a week. Charlie would always buy what seemed like random books. Sometimes it was poetry, a few times it was copies of the Bible in different languages and a Torah once. Steven had mentioned in passing that he didn’t have to buy something every time he came him, but Charlie just smiled and selected two more random books, so he gave up in trying to convince not to spend all his money at the store. Then the day of a poetry night rolled around, and Charlie was back in the store. “Please tell me we can put Neil and Todd around each other soon because I can’t take him whining anymore.” He announced as he walked through the door.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Steven looked up from where he was ringing up a book that Todd was buying, “Hello to you too, Charlie.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Hello, love.” Charlie winked and Steven flushed again. “Now, as I was saying, we need to put them around each other before I spend another day listening to Neil wax poetry over how endearing and adorable this guy he met once is.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Steven rolled his eyes, turning to the anxious man in front of him, “Are you coming to the poetry reading tonight?” The man nodded jerkily and Meeks could see Charlie’s eyes light up.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Is this him?” The man nodded again.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Meeks pitied him, “Todd Anderson, this is Charlie Dalton. He owns Ink Splatter.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Todd waved, his face still crimson from the older man’s monologue. He looked up quickly and seemed to freeze, “Wait a second.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Holy shit, I know you!” Charlie’s face seemed to be a mix of excitement and horror. “You-“ he gestured at Todd’s chest and back, looking bewildered.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Meeks cleared his throat, “I’m guessing you knew Todd before?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Uh yeah, yeah. We went to a uh-“ Charlie cut himself off but Todd for him to continue, “We went to an all girls school together.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Oh, yeah, I met Todd just after high school graduation. We actually had a mutual English teacher that introduced us before we went to college.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Todd.” Charlie said the name slowly, looking the man in question up and down, “It suits you. I like it.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The anxious man gave him a smile, “Thanks. Yours fits you too.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Ugh, tell that to my parents.” He groaned, “They still call me Charlotte.” Todd wrinkled his nose, sympathetic to the other man. “Wait a second, you said mutual English teacher? Don’t tell me.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Charlie was beaming as Todd nodded with a laugh, “Mister K taught at Meeks’s all boys high school.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I miss that man.” Charlie sighed with a nostalgic smile.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“He comes to our poetry nights.” Steven offered. “When he’s in town at least.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Wait, so he’ll be here tonight?” Todd nodded again. “This is great! Cameron hated him. I can’t wait to drag them all here.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Cameron?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Yeah,” Charlie rolled his eyes, “Richard Cameron. His family was friends with mine and Neil’s.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Oh gosh, you’re the kid that told all his friends that Dick was short for Richard.” Steven started laughing, “He went to high school with me and Pittsie.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“What a small fucking world.” Charlie grinned. “I’m sorry you had to endure that.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The Dead Poets Society poetry night started the same way it always did. Mister Keating was in attendance, reading the opening poem. He announced Todd next, “And now ladies and gentlemen, a man I have seen grow into the amazing writer he is today, Mister Todd Anderson!” Charlie and Meeks could see the swell of happiness that rushed through Todd when Mister Keating called him a man, and it was like the anxious man lost all sense of stage fright because of it. As soon as Todd took the stage, Neil was transfixed, and for good reason. Todd was the best poet any of them knew. When he finished, Meeks, Pitts, and Charlie, with no discussion, stood up together and yawped at the top of the lungs. At the very end, Charlie in his infinite charismatic way, convinced Mister Keating to them at the bar next door. “Charlie, it’s good to see you’ve grown into your own person. I was afraid when you were my student, as much as you spoke out, that you might end up following your father’s dreams for you in the end.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“No way, Mister K.” Charlie grinned, “Carpe Diem remember? You taught us to be our own men!” Mister Keating smiled proudly before turning to the others.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I remember Meeks and Pitts of course, and I can see Cameron trying to hide from my eye by getting the drinks with Todd. But who are these gentlemen?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Neil Perry, sir.” Neil held out his hand and Mister Keating shook it vigorously.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Don’t call me sir, my boy. You can call me Mister Keating, or captain.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“O captain, my captain!” Meeks and Charlie called out at the same time. Charlie grinned at the redhead before turning to his taller friend, “This is Knox Overstreet. He’s a lawyer.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I’m a law student, Charlie.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Charlie just rolled his eyes, “Okay, he’s a lawyer in training. The two of them also work in my shop in their spare time.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“And by work he means runs so he can go flirt.” Neil pointed out with a smirk.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Steven couldn’t help his curiosity, “Where’s he going to do that?” Charlie just kind of looked at him, slack jawed as Mister Keating slapped the table.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“That reminds me! Meeks, how’s the tattoo healing?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Oh, it’s all healed up!” He pulled up the sleeve of his t- shirt, revealing a text font in large letters. Charlie almost let out a laugh when he saw it.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">‘</span>
  <span class="s2">YAWP’ </span>
  <span class="s1">written neatly across the inside of Steven’s upper arm. “Marvelous! Charlie, you did terrific.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Oh, actually Neil did it.” Steven corrected. “Knox did Todd and Pittsie’s.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I was out that day with Ginny.” Charlie offered with a shrug.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Mister Keating frowned slightly, “I sent the boys to the shop so you could meet each other. How did you meet if not at the shop?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Oh!” Charlie exclaimed, digging into his messenger bag, “That reminds me. I picked this up for you at Meeks’s store. It was the only title I saw that you didn’t have.” He pulled out the book by Thoreau he had bought the first time he came in, offering it to Mister Keating. “I was planning to mail it to ya, but then Meeks said you’d be here tonight so I brought it along instead.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Oh, thank you, Charlie.” Mister Keating hugged the book close as Cameron and Todd came back with the drinks. “Todd, I see you’ve kept up your writing. How did your publisher meeting go?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Oh, uh, it-it went pretty well, I think? They gave m-me a contract to look at.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“That’s fantastic!” Neil cheered, “We should do a toast!”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Todd smiled shyly, face burning, “O-only if captain will do the honors.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Oh,” Mister Keating laughed, “One of your friends should do it.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Oh come on, Mister K! You know no one else could do Toddy justice.” Charlie encouraged him, knocking his shoulder against Todd’s.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Mister Keating smiled fondly at his former students, “Very well.” His lifted his beer, as did the others, “Years ago, I asked Todd the question; are you a man or an amoeba? And he has shown us all tonight that he is indeed a man. From the first time I heard him utter words from the heart, I knew he was destined for great things in his life, and I am honored and humbled that he used my teachings to find his passion in life. To Todd, the Walt Whitman of his generation!”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“YAWP!”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">After a few rounds, Mister Keating left but the boys weren’t finished drinking yet. Charlie had been sporadically checking his phone, and Meeks was about to ask what he was waiting for, when the front door of the bar opened a very pretty woman walked in. “Ginny!” Charlie yelled, rushing over and throwing his arms around her. Meeks tried not to let his disappointment show on his face, but he could tell he was unsuccessful by the way Pitts patted his shoulder. “Come meet the rest of the guys.” He heard Charlie tell her as the the taller man led her to the booth they had claimed. “You know Knox and Neil and Cameron, but this is Todd- remember Angela? The one we called Dottie?” Ginny beamed in understanding, throwing her arms around a very startled Todd.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“It’s been years! You’ve gotten so handsome! I meant to come to the poetry night but I was stuck helping set up the stage for the play.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Oh shit!” Neil paled, “That was tonight!”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Ginny rolled her eyes fondly, “Don’t fret, darling costar of mine. When Charlie texted me that you guys were busy I told the director that you were having an emergency dental procedure but you’ll be okay for opening night tomorrow.” She turned to Knox, “And I told Chris that you would call her in the morning because you got stuck driving Neil because he was too doped up on the anesthetic.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You are a literal goddess among men.” Knox bowed down.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Ginny looked up with a fond grin, catching sight of the bespectacled man, “Oh, who’s this?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Meeks.” He waved.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Ohhhh,” Her gaze flicked over to Charlie, “So this is Meeks. I see.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Hey, behave.” Charlie elbowed her with a playful grin.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Meeks took a big drink of his beer, and immediately choked on it when she spoke again, “And who’s the tall, hot one?” Pitts started patting his back as he tried to breath again, and he saw the flush on his friend’s cheeks.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“That’s Gerard Pitts.” Todd answered her between concerned looks in Meeks’s direction.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Ohh, Charlie, why didn’t you tell me Pitts was hot!?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Because you never would’ve believed me if I had.” Charlie laughed. “Besides, I’ve got my eye on someone else.” He winked Meeks’s direction, and the other man could feel his face heat up again.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Ginny waved him off, “Oh, by the way, I finished that biography you got me. Where’d you find it?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Meeks’s store.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“The Ruth Bader Ginsberg one?” Meeks questioned. “I thought you bought that for your step sister.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The others all raised an eyebrow before Cameron spoke up for the first time since her arrival, “Who exactly do you think she is?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“His...<em>girlfriend</em>?” Before he even finished the statement, Ginny and Charlie exploded in laughter.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Cameron looked beyond confused, “She was literally talking about how hot your best friend is within ten minutes of walking in the room. How did that thought cross your mind?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Meeks opened his mouth but didn’t have a response. Knox clanked his bottle on the table, “You process the news, Meeks, I’m gonna head home. Cameron, you need a ride?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Yes, please.” The redhead followed the taller man out the door.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Todd had been progressively drinking himself under the table since they arrived, and didn’t occur to Meeks that it was too much until the man slumped into his shoulder. “I should get him home.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I could take him for you,” Neil offered, “You could clear up whatever this misunderstanding was.” Before he could reply, Todd held his hands out to Neil, so he just chuckled and fished his keys out of his pocket.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“He lives with me and Pittsie above the store. He’s drunk, but he can probably find his bedroom if you get him up there.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” Charlie called.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“There’s nothing you wouldn’t do!”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Exactly!” Charlie cackled.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I guess I was too late to the fun.” Ginny sighed, “Gerard, would you like to take a walk?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Oh! Uh, sure.” The taller man squeezed his friend’s arm before following her out the door.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Charlie grinned, “And then there were two.” He took a long drink before he looked at Meeks again, “You really thought we were dating?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Meeks shrugged, “I don’t know man! Neil talked about you flirting and you seemed really comfortable together.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Because we’ve been around each other for years.” He laughed, “And I’ve been flirting with you! You’re telling me you didn’t notice?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I- uh- I wasn’t sure. I thought I was imagining it.” He muttered.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Charlie smirked, sliding around the table until he was directly beside the curly headed man, “So you’re telling me you imagine me?” Meeks couldn’t reply, the other man was a lot closer to him than he had ever been, “How can I make it obvious?” His gaze flicked down the other’s lips and back up.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I can think of a way.” Meeks whispered, tongue darting out to wet his lips. He saw Charlie’s eyes follow the movement.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Carpe Diem, right?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Carpe Diem.” Meeks confirmed before closing the gap between them.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">After a few minutes, Steven pulled away to catch his breath, and Charlie leaned his forehead on his shoulder, “I have been wanted to do that for months.” He muttered, pressing a kiss to the side the other man’s neck.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I know what you mean.” Meeks answered, his fingers still buried in the hair at the nape of Charlie’s neck. “We could, you know, do it again- if you want?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Charlie smirked, “Oh, I want to.” He leaned up again, sealing Meeks’s lips. “You wanna go out with me sometime?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“That is something I would very much to do.” Charlie hummed, pressing kisses down the side of Meeks’s neck, “There’s something I should tell you.” His voice cracked slightly, so Charlie leaned back to look in his eye.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Okay, what’s up?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I’m, uh, I’m asexual. I don’t have sex, I don’t enjoy it.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Charlie made a considering noise, “Okay. How does next tomorrow afternoon work for you?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Huh?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“For our date?” Charlie laughed. “Sex doesn’t change the fact that I like you.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Meeks wasn’t sure if he could believe that yet or not. Plenty of people had told him that, and then it ended up being a problem. But Charlie looked sincere, and Meeks knew he was worth a chance. “Tomorrow’s great. How about we head to my place for a movie?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Charlie hopped up with a smile, holding out his hand, which Steven gratefully took, a blush burning his cheeks. “Is kissing still okay?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Yeah, kissing is okay.” No sooner had he answered before the other man stole another kiss before pulling him out the door.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">When they got to the apartment above the store, the first thing Meeks noticed was that there were extra shoes by the front door. He grabbed a glass of water and Tylenol, popping into Todd’s room to leave them on his nightstand. He giggled to himself, seeing Neil curled around one of his best friends as they slept soundly. He slipped back out of the room, finding Charlie settled on the couch. “I guess Neil didn’t go home.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Yeah, that man is a cuddler. We taken vacations together and Knox refuses to share a bed with him because he goes full koala.” Meeks laughed, turning on a movie and settling next to the other man. “How do you feel about cuddles?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I am a fan.” He laughed, yelping when Charlie wrapped his arms around his middle and yanked him into his lap before resettling into the couch.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Perfect.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">When Meeks woke up, everything was blurry. It took him a few moments to make out the living room ceiling and his miss glasses on the coffee table. He heard whistling, shifting to a sitting position as he slid his glasses in his face. He found the whistling sound, finding Charlie moving around his kitchen, “Morning, babe!” Charlie beamed as he turned back to the pan on the stove.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“What time is it?” He asked, voice groggy with sleep.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“A little after eleven.” Charlie answered, placing a cup of coffee in front of Meeks. “Ginny called me to let me know Pitts slept at her place, and that was at like seven. I couldn’t get back to sleep, so I ran to the store and bought some things for breakfast for everyone.” Meeks felt a surge of affection. He moved around the counter, wrapping his arms around Charlie’s waist with his chin resting on his shoulder, “Hello to you too.” The other man giggled.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You’re sweet.” Meeks muttered, burying his face in the crook of Charlie’s neck.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Foods almost ready, if you wanna wake up the guys.” Meeks groaned but extracted himself to head to Todd’s room. He knocked on the door when he heard whispering.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Charlie made breakfast!” He heard Neil call out before he went back to the kitchen. A few minutes went by in a content silence, punctuated by the sizzle of bacon grease, before the other two joined them.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Neil!” Charlie exclaimed, making Todd wince, “Were you taking advantage of my oldest friend while he was drunk?” He asked in a fake scandalized tone.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Neil rolled his eyes, “If you slept here then I assume you did more than we did, cause we didn’t do anything.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I did not!” Charlie announced with a grin as he set full plates in front of each of them before sitting next to Meeks with his own.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Really?” Neil laughed, “Charlie stayed the night with the person he’s been crushing on for months and nothing happened? Did I enter a parallel universe without realizing it?” Meeks put his head down, staring at his plate as Charlie sent a glare at Neil.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Todd cleared his throat, “Where’s Pittsie?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“He stayed the night with Ginny.” Charlie answered, but his tone wasn’t as light as it had been.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Todd nudged Meeks’s arm, “You okay?” He asked quietly, and Meeks managed a nod.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">When breakfast was over, Meeks was washing up the dishes, slightly impressed that Charlie hadn’t made much of a mess with how much food he made. The man in question popped up at his shoulder as he was finishing up, “Hey, I’m sorry about what Neil said. But please, don’t take it to heart. I was serious when I said that sex didn’t matter. I want to be with you because I like you. Okay?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Okay.” Meeks nodded, “I need to get to the store, but date tonight, right?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I’ll be at the store at seven to pick you up.” He pressed a kiss to Meeks cheek before heading out of the apartment. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">At seven o clock, Steven was getting ready to close up the store. Charlie hadn’t shown up by seven thirty when he finished, and he waited for almost another hour before he decided to head up to his apartment. Pitts was there, gushing to Todd about the time he had with Ginny. “I though you had a date?” Todd inquired when he caught sight of him. “Eight thirty doesn’t seem like an end of date time.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“He didn’t show up. I think the no sex thing bothered him more than he let on.” Meeks shrugged. “I’m just gonna head to bed.” He saw them exchange looks, but opted to ignore them.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Charlie was almost finished with a last minute tattoo when he heard the bell above the shop ring, without looking he called out, “Sorry, but we’re closing! I’m running late as it is.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Oh good, so you’re aware.” He glanced up at the voice to see Pitts and Todd standing inside the door.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“What do you mean?” He asked, focusing back on the line work he was finishing.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Meeks thinks you stood him up.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“What?” He sputtered, pulling the tattoo gun away before he turned to face them. “Why would he think that?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Do you even know what time it is?” Todd asked.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“No, he came in at like six thirty and i thought I’d be done in time.” He groaned, “How late am I?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“It’s almost nine.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“NINE!?” Charlie let out an impressive string of curses before staring at the ceiling.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Finish that up and you can come back with us. He’ll understand that you got tied up at work.” Pitts encouraged. The man getting the tattoo murmured apologies.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Just a few minutes went by before Charlie announced that he was finished.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You can come in on Monday to get the coloring done if you like, but I need to get going.” The man handed Charlie the money for the tattoo before rushing out. “Let’s go, I’ll clean this up later.” He quickly turned out all the lights and followed them out the door. “God, he’s gonna hate me.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“It isn’t your fault.” Todd offered, “You had to work. He’ll get that. I think.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">When they got back to the apartment, they found Meeks on the couch, wrapped up in his blanket like a burrito, “Hey guys.” He called out without looking. “Did you guys wanna continue our Doctor Who marathon?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Maybe another time.” Pitts answered. “Someone is here for you.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Meeks glanced up, freezing when he saw Charlie, “Oh, uh, I didn’t expect to see you.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Pitts and Todd disappeared into their rooms as Charlie made his way over to Meeks, “I am so sorry I was late. A guy came in for a last minute tattoo and I didn’t pay attention to the clock or I would’ve at least called. I know it’s a shit excuse, but please give me another chance.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I figured the no sex thing was just too much,” Meeks muttered quietly.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Not in your life!” Charlie told him, tentatively taking Meeks’s hand, “I really like you, Meeks. I would never stand you up for that, or ever if I wasn’t so fucking stupid and had thought to just tell the guy to come back another day.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“It’s okay.” He told him, “I might’ve overreacted a bit to you being late.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“No way, your feelings about this were totally valid. I would’ve assumed you weren’t interested if I had been waiting for you for two hours, and for the record I am very interested. I’m just stupid.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Meeks huffed a laugh and Charlie finally cracked a smile, “You aren’t stupid, Charlie. It’s okay.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I know it’s a little late for the date I had planned, but I do have an idea if you feel up to trusting me.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Okay.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It turned out Charlie’s idea was to climb up to the roof of Meeks’s building and star gaze. Even with the late start, it was the best date Meeks had ever been on. Charlie listened intently as he pointed out every constellation he knew and told their stories, and kept his arm around Meeks the whole time, while he rested his head on Charlie’s chest. At the end of the night, Charlie ended up falling asleep with Meeks again, and Pitts and Todd shared content grins at the scene.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Three years, and several tattoos later, Meeks found himself back in the chair at Charlie’s shop. “You sure you want to do this, baby?” Charlie asked, a nervous but hopeful smile in his face.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Absolutely.” Meeks grinned, holding out his left hand. “This is permanent, just like how I feel about you.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Sap.” Charlie muttered with a fond expression, picking up his tattoo gun. It was only a few minutes before he was finished with the small design, a circled band around Meeks’s ring finger.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I might be a sap, but you married me, so you aren’t much better.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Yeah, yeah.” Charlie pressed a kiss to his husband’s forehead, “Best decision I ever made was book shopping at your store.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I meant to ask you years ago, why’d you buy so many bibles and a Torah?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Charlie laughed, “Oh, I bought those for Cameron. He can’t read any of them, and that’s why it amuses me.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
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